Your employer has to figure out what protective gear the work needs, provide it, and pay for it, with a few narrow exceptions. Under OSHA, the boss does a hazard assessment for each task, and any personal protective equipment that assessment calls for, hard hats, eye protection, hi-vis, gloves, respirators, hearing protection, has to be given to you at no cost. The main things you might pay for are ordinary steel-toe boots and prescription safety glasses you are allowed to take home. This is federal OSHA in 2026, and some states go further.
The hazard assessment comes first
PPE is the last line of defense, not the first. OSHA expects employers to control hazards at the source where they can (guards, ventilation, safer methods) and use PPE for what is left. To do that, the employer has to conduct a written hazard assessment of each task under 1910.132(d), decide what PPE is needed, and document it. "Everyone wears the same stuff" is not an assessment.
Common construction PPE that shows up in those assessments:
- Head: hard hats wherever there is an overhead or bump hazard.
- Eyes and face: safety glasses, goggles, or a face shield for grinding, cutting, and chemical splash.
- Hands: cut-resistant or chemical-resistant gloves for the task.
- Feet: protective footwear where things can drop or puncture.
- Hearing: plugs or muffs in high-noise work.
- Respiratory: respirators for dust, silica, fumes, and vapors, which come with their own program and fit-testing.
- High-visibility clothing near traffic and equipment.
The employer pays, with narrow exceptions
The rule under 1926.95(d) is that employers pay for required PPE at no cost to the worker. The exceptions are specific and small, and the whole of the rule fits in one table:
| Item | Who pays | Clause |
|---|---|---|
| Any PPE needed to comply with the construction standards | Employer, at no cost to the employee | 1926.95(d)(1) |
| Non-specialty safety-toe boots and non-specialty prescription safety eyewear | Employee, but only if the employer permits them to be worn off site | 1926.95(d)(2) |
| Boots with built-in metatarsal protection, where the employer offers metatarsal guards and you ask to use your own instead | Employee | 1926.95(d)(3) |
| Everyday clothing: long-sleeve shirts, long pants, street shoes, normal work boots | Employee | 1926.95(d)(4)(i) |
| Items used solely against the weather: winter coats, jackets, gloves, parkas, rubber boots, hats, raincoats, ordinary sunglasses, sunscreen | Employee | 1926.95(d)(4)(ii) |
| Replacement PPE | Employer, unless you lost it or damaged it deliberately | 1926.95(d)(5) |
| PPE you already own and choose to use | Employer need not reimburse, and cannot require you to supply it | 1926.95(d)(6) |
Two clauses settle most of the arguments that actually happen on site.
The boots exception has a condition on it that gets forgotten. The employer only escapes paying for non-specialty safety-toe footwear if it permits that footwear to be worn off the job site. An employer that requires boots to stay on site has lost the exception and is back to paying.
And replacement is the employer's cost, not yours. 1926.95(d)(5) makes the employer pay for replacement PPE except where the employee lost it or intentionally damaged it. Ordinary wear, a cracked lens, a hard hat past its date: employer. That is the opposite of how most sites run it.
One more, worth knowing if you are being pushed: an employer may let you use PPE you already own, and does not have to reimburse you for it, but under 1926.95(d)(6) it must not require you to provide or pay for your own PPE unless the item is one of the exceptions above. "Bring your own or go home" is not one of the exceptions.
Where another OSHA standard says who pays for a specific item, that standard wins over this one. The respirator and silica standards each have their own payment provisions.
- Non-specialty safety-toe boots and non-specialty prescription safety glasses, if the employer lets you wear them off the job site. Because you keep them and use them off site, the employer does not have to buy them.
- Everyday clothing (a long-sleeve shirt, ordinary work pants) and ordinary weather gear (a winter coat, rain jacket) used for comfort, not as protection against a specific hazard.
- PPE you lose or intentionally damage, which the employer can decline to replace for free.
Everything the hazard assessment actually requires as protection, the employer buys, maintains, and replaces when it wears out. A boss telling a crew to go buy their own hard hats and respirators is not complying.
Fit, condition, and training
PPE only protects you if it fits, works, and gets used right:
- Respirators need a medical clearance, fit-testing, and training before use. A respirator that does not seal does nothing.
- Damaged PPE gets replaced, not patched. A cracked hard hat or a scratched-up face shield is not protecting you.
- Training on what to wear, when, how to put it on, and its limits is the employer's job.
Common questions
Does my employer have to pay for my PPE?
Yes, for any PPE the job's hazard assessment requires, at no cost to you. Hard hats, eye and face protection, hi-vis, gloves, hearing protection, and respirators all have to be provided and paid for by the employer. The main exceptions are ordinary steel-toe boots and prescription safety glasses you are allowed to wear off the job, plus everyday clothing and weather gear.
Do I have to buy my own steel-toe boots?
Sometimes. Non-specialty safety-toe boots are one of the few PPE items an employer can make you pay for, as long as they let you wear them off the job site. Because you keep them and use them away from work, they fall under a narrow exception to the employer-pays rule. Specialty protective footwear required only for a specific hazard is still the employer's cost.
Is my employer required to provide a respirator?
Yes, if the hazard assessment shows one is needed, the employer provides it, pays for it, and runs a respirator program. That program includes a medical evaluation, fit-testing, and training before you use the respirator, because one that does not seal to your face protects nothing. You cannot be charged for required respiratory protection.
Can my boss make the crew buy their own hard hats?
No. A hard hat required by the hazard assessment is protective PPE the employer has to provide and pay for. Head protection is not one of the narrow off-site exceptions like ordinary boots or prescription glasses. Telling a crew to buy their own required hard hats or respirators is not complying with OSHA.
What is a PPE hazard assessment?
It is a written evaluation the employer does for each task to decide what protective gear the work requires. OSHA requires it under 1910.132(d), and it drives everything else: what PPE is provided, who is trained on it, and what the employer has to pay for. "Everyone wears the same thing" is not a hazard assessment, and skipping it is a common violation.
The honest bit
- The employer-pays rule and its narrow exceptions are federal OSHA in 2026 under 29 CFR 1926.95 and 1910.132. Verify current requirements at osha.gov.
- About 22 states run their own OSHA program and can require more, including on who pays. See Working in Your State.
- This is general guidance, not legal advice. If an employer is refusing to provide required PPE, that is a safety concern you can raise, and raising it is protected. See Your rights on an unsafe site.
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Keep reading
Templates you might need
Sources
- 29 CFR 1926.95 - Criteria for personal protective equipment · The employer payment rule for PPE at 1926.95(d) and its exceptions
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